| Project/Area Number |
18K14748
|
|---|
| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
|
| Allocation Type | Multi-year Fund |
|---|
| Review Section |
Basic Section 44050:Animal physiological chemistry, physiology and behavioral biology-related
|
|---|
| Research Institution | Osaka University |
|---|
Principal Investigator |
|
|---|
| Project Period (FY) |
2018-04-01 – 2020-03-31
|
| Project Status |
Completed (Fiscal Year 2019)
|
| Budget Amount *help |
¥4,030,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥930,000)
Fiscal Year 2019: ¥1,690,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,300,000、Indirect Cost: ¥390,000)
Fiscal Year 2018: ¥2,340,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,800,000、Indirect Cost: ¥540,000)
|
|---|
| Keywords | 光周性 / 概日時計 / PDF / 電気生理学 / 免疫組織化学 |
|---|
| Outline of Final Research Achievements |
Animals accurately measure day length and number of the days to adapt seasonal changes. Previous studies suggested the existence of a photoperiodic clock system, which interprets the information of day length and number of days depending on a circadian clock. However, the detailed mechanisms for the photoperiodic clock have been elusive.
In this study, I focused on the accessory medulla (AMe), which is a brain region involved in photoperiodism, and analyzed the neuronal mechanisms for the photoperiodic clock in the bean bug, Riptortus pedestris. Analyses suggested that multiple types of neurons exist in the AMe and interact with pars intercerebralis (PI) cells, which are suggested to take on a role of the output system of the photoperiodic mechanism. Additionally, PI cells changed their neuronal activity according to the day length, and the knockdown of a circadian clock gene abolished the photoperiodic response in the PI cells.
|
| Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements |
概日時計をもとにした光周性制御メカニズムについては、Bunningが1936年にモデルを提唱してから、長年世界中で研究が進められてきた研究トピックである。しかし、概日時計に基づいて日長・日数情報をどのように処理しているかについて、未だその詳細なメカニズムは不明瞭である。
本研究成果は、世界で初めて昆虫をモデルとして、概日時計の分子機構をもとに神経活動レベルで日長情報処理を行っていることを示唆したものである。そのため、本研究は概日時計をもとにした日長・日数情報処理の中枢機構の理解に向けた先駆け的な研究に位置づけられ、世界的に見ても大きな学術的インパクトを持つものと思われる。
|
